There are all sorts of sleep related platitudes – “sleep on it”, “get some rest”, “it’ll seem better in the morning” which can feel quite irritating when you aren’t in the best frame of mind. But improving the quality of your sleep is incredibly beneficial to your well-being and general mental health.
“While research is ongoing to better understand the connections between mental health and sleep, the evidence to date points to a bidirectional relationship. Mental health disorders tend to make it harder to sleep well. At the same time, poor sleep, including insomnia, can be a contributing factor to the initiation and worsening of mental health problems.” [Sleep Foundation]
Also according to the Sleep Foundation, 75% of people with depression also suffer with insomnia, hypersomnia (sleeping too much) or excessive daytime sleeping. It would appear that this further strengthens the evidence that poor sleep and mental health problems go hand in hand.
So, when thinking about getting better sleep, it’s likely that you are also subconsciously taking steps to improve your mental health: boosting one will almost certainly have a positive effect on the other.
Creating good sleep habits
There are many considerations to getting a good night’s sleep and these all combine to create your starting blocks. Once you’ve put a few things in place, you need to be consistent in making them into strong habits that become a way of life. It won’t happen immediately but with some persistence, a good sleep pattern should emerge.
Exercise and get outdoors – make sure that every day includes some form of getting outside and exercising in natural light, even if it’s just a short walk
Have a set bedtime – and stick to it, even if you don’t feel tired
Enjoy your bedtime preparation – indulge in some simple, regular, habit forming things that make you feel good: from brushing your teeth; taking extra care of your skin; having a relaxing bath or playing gentle music
Avoid stimulants – you can experiment to see how the timings affect your sleep patterns and adjust accordingly but start with an hour before bed and cut out alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. Stimulants also include your phone, screens and other electronic devices
Create a cosy space – dim the lights, read for a little while, listen to calming music, make sure your bedding is fresh and inviting, add an extra blanket if you’re cold but don’t have the room too warm and invest in decent pillows and bedding
Practise some meditation /mind clearing exercises – there are plenty of free apps that provide short sessions to help you unwind before sleep. Indeed many of them are so good they send you to sleep! If you don’t fancy an app, just learn some decent breathing techniques where you focus on breath in and out of your body. This action helps to still your mind and the deep breaths allow your heart rate to slow to a beneficial, sleep-inducing level. In for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4 is an easy breathing technique to try.
Don’t be tempted to nap – to get into a routine it’s important to sleep at the right time so your body is ready for a full night of restorative slumber
One of the ironies of poor sleep stems from the fact that bedtime is usually when we are most likely to have some time to start thinking. The busy-ness of the day is over, all is quiet and our brains start go into overdrive, disrupting the peace and potential for sleep. Writing things down for our attention the next day can be one way of dealing with these intrusive thoughts.
Waking up, we often feel as though we haven’t had a moment’s sleep, although this is actually unlikely. Getting up at the right time each day, having a shower and preparing for the day ahead will all contribute to the act of creating good sleep habits. And, at the risk of sounding like a mum (which I am!), making your bed is an essential part of good sleep hygiene and makes getting into it later so much more inviting. Try these useful tips all together and stick with it for a period of time until change starts to take place.
If you need help with sleep issues and how they’re affecting your ability to function each day, please do make an appointment to see me and we can work towards a two-pronged approach to help with the sleep challenges whilst improving your mental health, in tandem.
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